Chinese renewable energy developer Envision Energy is incorporating ADI’s MEMS sensor technology in its new generation of smart wind turbines. The sensors will provide enhanced real-time monitoring for vibration and tilt to provide intelligence at the edge, and inform future wind turbine operation and design.

Wind power has achieved rapid growth in China in recent years. According to China’s National Energy Administration, by the end of 2022, cumulative installed capacity has reached 370 million kilowatts. With scale-out of wind power plants, turbine components are facing new challenges. Higher tower barrels, longer blades, and heavier engine rooms create new challenges for safe and reliable operation.

Among the challenges, the tower barrel is one of the key windmill components requiring monitoring to ensure the safety and reliability of wind power turbines. The tower barrel extends from the ground up to the windmill generator and blades. The partnership between Envision and ADI aims to introduce predictive maintenance technology into the core control of smart wind turbines.

This will be achieved by deploying ADI’s precision inertial measurement unit (IMU) and low-noise, low-drift accelerometers on different positions of the tower barrel to monitor the key states of tower barrel in real-time. Information gathered by monitoring tower barrel conditions is used to inform danger prevention measures.

“In the long-term, wind power and energy storage will become the energy of the future for the world. While we move toward that goal, safety remains the first factor in the process of value mining,” said Haipeng Chen, Director of Intelligent Control Division at Envision Energy. “We are pleased to work with ADI to add its predictive, precision, high-reliability MEMS sensors to our wind turbines. This increases the safety of the tower barrel as well as brings the blade diameter and tower barrel height to the next level, continuing to lead the progress of the industry.”

“ADI has decades of experience in the field of MEMS sensors,” said Neil Zhao, Director of MEMS Technology Group Asia at ADI. “We are committed to helping customers solve challenges in different scenarios through high-performance solutions and all-around support. This collaboration with Envision Energy supports the promotion of smart distributed wind turbines.”